Sheet phier



A. G. DELANY May s,v 1934.

SHEET PILER Filed NOV. 18, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR ATTORNEYS l I 2 I I Z uw I I :L in- ,Mim ik May 8,` 1934. A DLANY :1,958,133

SHEET PILER Filed Nov. 18, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR A6-2M@ 36 BY XW VM ATTORNEYS @hanne il. lelany, City, Ala., assigner to Gulli tates iilcmpany, a corporation ot Application Novernloer l2, i932, Serial lilo. MSM-i3 My invention relates to a piling machine ior receiving sheets, plates, packs and the rom rolling mills and depositing the same in a pile, preferably upon a suitable conveyor, with auto-= 55 matic appliances provided for the periodic lifting of the delivery end of the piler as the piling operation proceeds and when the pile is completed and removed for the quick and automatic return oi' the piler to lowered or initial position ready to E@ repeat its cycle of operation.

My invention is particularly concerned with devisingV a piling machine which is simple, comparatively inexpensive and which shall possess the qualication of rapid adjustment, particularly in respect of its return movement from highest to initial operating position. The importance or" a quick return lies in that the piler is intended lor use with automatic rolling mills in which the hot stock is delivered from 'the heat-l ing oven at timed intervals and is automatically manipulated in melting its passes through the mill so that the rolling cycle oi cach sheet or pack is accomplished within a minimum of time, thereby permitting the maximum expansionY of the sheet without the necessity of reheating. All of the agencies called upon to handle the sheet stock from its initial pass into the mill to its delivery as a finished sheet on the pile are required to function rapidly in order that no delay shall be imposed on the rolling operations and to this end it is essential that the piler having been adjusted to its uppermost position shall be returnable to lowered position within thetime limit of a sheet rolling cycle so Ythat it will be' ready after" delivery of one sheet in its uppermost position to receive the next succeeding sheet in its lowermost position.

A further object oi' my invention which is of importance where the plier feed table is connected to and movable with a tilting catcher, is that its conveyors and feed rolls for the sheets shall be driven from the discharge end of the piler feed table and to this end l have devised a novel means lor driving the feed rolls and conveyors from a stationary motor to the free end ofthe movable table.

l@ invention further contemplates controlling the vertical movements of the piler ieed table by a trip controlled pawl and ratchet feed, preferably associated with electrical means for eecting the automatic functioning of air cylinders to manipulate the pawl and ratchet mechanism.

invention further contemplatesl controlling the automatic adjustments of the piler by an elongated control arm under which the plier leed (Ul. ido-35) table rolls act to force the sheets as they are piled, this arm serving both to hold-down the sheets and after it has been raised through a predetermined angle by the accumulating pile of y sheets it will trip mechanism adapted to effect .do a vertical step adjustment for the feed table.

My invention further contemplates associat= ing the piler feed table with a conveyor for the removal of the piledsheets, there being means automatically responsive to the actuation of this '65 latter conveyor to accomplish the quick return of the feed table to its lowered position.

My invention embodies other novel features and details of construction which will be hereinafter set forth and shown in the accompanying drawto ings, wherein:-

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my improved maclnne;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line VII---II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a wiring diagram showing the circuit for, controlling the lifting mechanism; and

Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram showing the circuit for controlling the lowering mechanism.

Referring now to the drawings for a better un- Uderstanding of my invention, I show a frame 6 having sides 'l' and 8 and a top 9. Each side of the frame isprovided with a slot 11 to serve .as a guide for an upper roll slide 12 and a lower roll slide 13 for vertical movement. An upper roll 14 is journaled in the upperslides 12 and a lower roll 16, having a pair of auxiliary rolls 16a, is journaled in the lower roll slides 13 to receive and stack the sheets as they pass from a rolling mill. f

A motor 17 is mounted on the top 9 of the frame to drive the lower roll 16, in a direction to carry the sheets away from the rolling mill, byl means of a pair of driving chains 18 which pass around the driving pinions 19 and idler gears 21,` -22 and 23 to the driven gears 24 secured to the ends of the lower roll shaft 25. The motor drives the pinions 19 through suitable reduction gears 26. The idler gears 21 and 22 are mounted for rotation on stud shaftsl27 secured to the sides of the frame 6, and the gear$23 are journaled on stud shafts 28 provided on the lower slide memhers 13. i

A pair of cables 29, which are provided to raise and lower the roll slides, have their one ends secured to drums 3l and their other ends extending over idler pulleys 32 and attached ,to a channel member 33 which, in turn, is secured to the lower roll slides 13 by means of two pairs of rods 34. The rods 3e pass through holes 36 provided ln the upper slides which are` thus free to move vertically with respect to the lower slides. The cable drums 31 are secured on a shaft 37 journaled in bearings 38 and rotated by means of a pawl 39 and a ratchet wheel 41. The ratchet wheel is secured to the shaft 37 and provided with a. suitable number of equally spaced pins 42 for engagement by' the pawl 39 and stop dog 40.

The sheets are delivered to the rolls by a pair of feed table chains 43 mounted on a frame 44 which has its discharge end provided with journals 46 to engage the lower roll shaft 25 and its other end pivotally connected to a sheet catcher 47 by means of a connecting link 48. The chains 43 are driven by pinions 49 secured to the roll shaft 25 and pass around idler gears 51 provided at the receiving end of the frame 44. The end of the sheet catcher 47 shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings moves up and down, as disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 566,230, to pass the sheets back and forth through the mill rolls of a threek high mill a suitable numberv of times after which, the catcher chains 52 deposit the finished sheet on feed table chains 43 for delivering` to the stacking rolls 14 and 16.

The pawl 39 is pivotally mounted at one end of a walking beam 53 which is journaled at 54 in a bearing 56. A piston 57, mounted in a cylinder 58, is provided to actuate the walking beam through a link connection 59 and can be operated by air, oil, etc., as desired. A guide rod 61, piv- `otally connected to the pawl and passing through a hole formed in the guide bracket 62, carries a spring 63 to bias the pawl into engagement with 'the ratchet pins 42 to rotate the ratchet wheel 41 and, an adjustment screw 64 is provided on a bracket 66 to engage and move the pawl away from engagement with the pins 42 on its return movement.

After each setting of the rolls 14 and 16, the ratchet wheel 41 is engaged by the stop dog 40 which is pivotally mounted at the end of a piston 67 and biased upwardly into engagement with the ratchet pins 42 by a fiat spring 68. The piston 67 is mounted in a cylinder 69 and actuated to draw the stop dog out of engagementwith the ratchet wheel to lower the rolls 14 and 16 to is mounted on a driving sprocket 77 and an idler sprocket 77a which are journaled in suitable bearings 78.

An arm 79 is provided to control the mechanism employed to raise and lower the rolls 14 and 16 and is secured to a shaft 81 journaled in bearings 82 provided on the' channel member 33. A pair of cams 83 and 84 are secured to the shaft 81 for engagement with switches 101 and 104 respectively to set up circuits controlling the roll lifting solenoid 86 land rolllowering solenoid 87. The circuits employed to control the vertical movements of the rolls will be hereinafter described in connection with the brief description of the complete operation of the machine.

In operation, the rolls 14 and 16 and the feed table chains 43 are driven continuously by the motor 17 to deliver and stack sheets passing from the sheet catcher 47 onto the conveyor belt 73. fis the stack increases in height, it pivots the control arm 79 causing the cam 83 to close the switch 101 which completes a circuit from the power lines 88 and 89 through leads 90 and 91 to a coil 92.- When the coil is thus energized, it closes the switches 92a, 92h and 92e to complete a circuit to the roll lifting solenoid 86 and also to complete a holding circuit for the relay through the switch 92e, leads 93 and 90, coil 92 and lead 91 (Fig. 3).

The energization of the solenoid 86 actuates the valve 94to raise the piston 57 which acts to rotate the cable drum 3l to move the rolls 14 and 16 one step. As the piston moves upwardly, a collar 95 is adapted to open the switch 103 to break the holding circuit to the relay 92 and permit the spring 96 to actuate the valve 94 to lower the piston. A safety switch 102 is interposed in the lead to be closed by the collar 95 on the return of the piston to the bottom of the cylinder after the opening of the switch 103. This step by step .movement of the rolls takes place until the stack has reached the desired size, after which an operator closes the switch 97 controlling the motor 76 to remove the completed stack of sheets 5 to another part of the mill.

When the stack of sheets passes from under the control arm 79 the latter will fall and cause the cam 84 to close the switch 104 interposed in the lead 98 (Fig. 4) and energize the coil 99. When the coil is thus energized, it closes the switches'99a, 99b and 99e to energize the solenoid 87 and to form a holding circuit to the relay through the switch 99o, leads 100 and 98, relay 99 and lead 88. The solenoid then actuates a valve 107 to cause the piston 67 to draw the stop dog 40 out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 41 and permit the rolls to descendto their first positionby gravity. On the return of the rolls to their lowest position, the slide 13 opens the switch 106 to break the holding circuit to the coil 99 and de-energize the solenoid 87. The spring 108 then actuates the valve 107 to cause the piston 67 to bring the dog 40 back into engagement with the ratchet wheel 41.

The safety switches 102 and 105 are provided to prevent the solenoids 86 and 87 being simultaneously energized, for when the stop dog 40 is retracted the pawl 39 must stand clear of the ratchet wheel 41. The safety switch 105 is interposed in the lead 98 and adapted to be held closed by the collar 95 when the pawl 39 is out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 41.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are imposed by the prior art or as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:-

1. In a piling machine for rolled metal sheets, a feed table having its discharge end vertically adjustable and adapted when released to drop quickly to lowered position, means responsive to the accumulating pile of sheets for raising said table end during the piling operation, and a control arm automatically operable to release the table for its return to lowered position responsive to the removal of the piled sheets.

2. In a piling machine for rolled metal sheets, a feed table having a discharge end adapted to be raised and lowered, a pawl and ratchet actuated mechanism adapted to raise the discharge end assenso of the ieed table, stop means operable to hold the table and to release it for return to lowered position, and means adapted to automatically control the operation of said raising mechanism andv set position by gravity, and an arm adapted to control the operation of the pawl and ratchet mechanism and the stop dog.

e. A device according to claim 3, in which separate coordinated means are provided for actuating the pawl and ratchet mechanism and the stop dog responsive to a change in position of the control arm.

5. In a piling machine adapted to stack sheets, a feed table having its discharge end vertically movable, sheet moving elements driven from said discharge end of the table and a drive for said elements comprising a serpentine flexible drive means having a stationary driving element and a driven element vertically movable with said table.

5. In a piling machine adapted to stack sheets received from a mill catching table, a feed table having a vertically movable discharge end provided with pinch rolls, and means adapted to drive said rolls comprising -a serpentine belt adapted to permit free vertical movement of the belt driven parts 'on said discharge end of the feed table.

7. In a piling machine, a feed table conveyor, means adapted to raise the discharge end of the conveyor step by step throughout the piling operation, and means responsive to the removal of the completed stack for automatically lowering the discharge end of the feed table conveyor to its initial starting position.

8. In a piling machine, a feed'table conveyor, a stack receiving conveyor positioned at the discharge end of the feed table conveyor, means adapted to raise the discharge end of the feed table conveyor step by step throughout the piling operation, and means responsive to the operation of said receiving conveyor in removing a completed stack for automatically lowering the discharge end of the feed table conveyor to its initial starting position.

9. In a piling machine, a feed table comprising sheet delivery rolls at its discharge end, means to drive said rolls, a trip arm carried by the -table and restingon uppermost sheet on the pile, said rolls acting to force the sheets successively under said arm to raise it, and means responsive to the raising of the arm for elevating the table step by step.

l. En a sheet piling machine, a feed table, stationary guides between which its discharge end is vertically movable, pinch rollers at said discharge end, a serpentine chain drive for the vertically adjustable rollers, 'an elongated arm pivotally mounted above said rollers and disposed to rest by gravity'on the pile oi sheets, electrou magnetically controlled means controlled by the movement ci' said arm to raise the table as the pile rises, and electro-magnetically controlled means to lower the table responsive to the removal oi the completed pile of sheets.

i1. In a sheet piling machine, a table having sheet discharge means, a pawl and ratchet operated means to lift the discharge end of said table step by step, means responsive to the height of the sheet pile to energize said pawl and ratchet mechanism, counterweights counterbalance said table, a dog coasting with said ratchet and releasable to free the feed table to drop quickly by gravity to lowered position, and means to hold the pawl disengaged from the ratchet when the dog is released.

l2. In a sheet piling machine, a table having sheet discharge means, a pawl and ratchet operated means to lift the discharge end of said table step by step comprising a fluid pressure motor and a walking beam driven thereby and carrying a pawl, means normally retracting the pawl from engagement with said ratchet, means responsive to the height of the sheet 'pile to energize said pawl and ratchet mechanism, counterweights to approximately counter-balance said table, a motor operated stop dog coacting with said ratchet and releasable to free the feed table to drop quickly by gravity to lowered position, and means to hold the pawl disengaged from the ratchet when the dog is released.

ALBANUS G. DELANY.

to approximately Mii 

